Revelers dressed as Santa Claus ride the subway during the annual Santacon event December 12, 2009 in New York City. Santacon is a mass gathering of revelers dressed as Santa who take to the streets in cities across the country before Christmas. less

Revelers dressed as Santa Claus ride the subway during the annual Santacon event December 12, 2009 in New York City. Santacon is a mass gathering of revelers dressed as Santa who take to the streets in cities ... more

Photo: Mario Tama, Mario Tama/Getty Images

Image 4 of 5

Revelers dressed as Santa Claus run as the arrive at Tompkins Square Park to take part during the annual SantaCon bar crawl event on December 14, 2013 in New York City. The SantaCon annual event occurs worldwide in more than 300 cities in 44 countries. In New York some community groups have established a "Santa Free" zone that urges bars not to serve alcoholic beverages to people participating in order to dissuade incidents of public vomiting and urination in the streets. less

Revelers dressed as Santa Claus run as the arrive at Tompkins Square Park to take part during the annual SantaCon bar crawl event on December 14, 2013 in New York City. The SantaCon annual event occurs ... more

Photo: Kena Betancur, Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Image 5 of 5

Metro-North bans alcohol for SantaCon

1 / 5

Back to Gallery

Metro-North trains will go dry for 24 hours this weekend as the railroad tries to keep sloshed Santas under control on their annual spree into New York City.

"To maintain orderly travel and safe station and terminal operations during this coming weekend's SantaCon event, alcohol will not be permitted on Metro-North trains and stations," Metro-North said in a press release Thursday.

SantaCon, an annual event in which adults dressed in Santa suits, elf attire and other holiday-themed costumes descend on the city en masse for an extended bar crawl.

This year marks the event's 20th anniversary. The first was held in 1994 in San Francisco. Since then, SantaCon events have sprung up all over, including in Black Rock and, just last week, in Stamford.

Although the event is described as charitable on its website, its reputation has grown to one of public drunkenness in which irksome, and oftentimes, troublesome Saint Nicks roam cities.

One YouTube video shows groups of Santas duking it out in front of bars. Another shows a drunk man embarrassing himself on a Metro-North train ride home.

Several Community Boards in New York City have banned the event from their neighborhoods, including the East Village. And SantaCon organizers recently hired famed civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel to help reshape the event's tarnished reputation, according to CBS.

Holiday tricksters from our area looking to pre-game on the train ride to Manhattan will be hit with the ban, which will run from 9 a.m. Saturday through 9 a.m. Sunday.

Although designated bar cars were phased out earlier this year on the New Haven line, bringing your own alcohol is generally allowed on Metro-North trains. It is common to see vendors selling beer and wine from carts in Grand Central Terminal to passengers preparing to board trains. The railroad says it imposes temporary bans on occasion for the safety of customers and train crews.

Extra MTA Police officers are also being added at Grand Central Terminal and other stations throughout the system to enforce the ban on Kris Kringle.

Police will confiscate alcohol and issue summonses carrying fines of up to $50, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both for those caught drinking on trains. Violators may also be subject to removal from the train or station by police, says Metro-North.

For all of Metro-North's efforts, antics on the trains may be hard to avoid as hundreds of Santas who have gotten inebriated in the city seek a sleigh ride home.